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keos_novelmatter's review
5.0
Gayle has done it again I thought Daniel & Grace was my favorite couple but no Chris & Abigail are everything!!! Never dare a duke is amazing
overflowingshelf's review
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
CW: assault; bullying; injury
I apparently read this book in 2016 (thank you, Goodreads!), but I remember NOTHING about it, so I was basically reading this one for the first time. I had such high hopes for this one as the premise sounded like my jam, and it was precisely the type of book I was in the mood for. But this book was missing something special to make me love it.
Abigail Shaw is desperate to save her father’s newspaper and make a name for herself as a journalist. And she knows that uncovering a good scandal will do both. She sets her sights on Christopher Cabot, the Duke of Madingely, the only member of the scandalous Cabot family untouched by scandal. What better way to uncover his secrets than to attend a house party at his estate and propose a pretend romance? Christopher finds Abigail’s proposal of a fake romance intriguing as it will allow him time to choose a suitable wife from the woman nipping at his heels. And it would be the perfect plan, as long as he could prevent her from uncovering his one deep, dark secret.
House party, female journalist, fake dating? Those tropes are like catnip to me. I did like the fake dating in this, particularly in the beginning, as it delivered exactly what you wanted from a fake dating trope. This book had good flirty banter and plenty of tension, but this book didn’t deliver on the actual romance and relationship. I wanted more emotions and feelings! Things went from zero to 100 on the feelings scale, and the relationship moved at lightning speed. Given this takes place at a house party, they only know each other 10 days or so, and a certain level of suspension of disbelief is required to buy their relationship. But I struggled with that and am not sure it worked well in this book.
I will also say things felt a little dicey regarding consent. Yes, this book is from 2008, and things that would be okay then wouldn’t be okay now, but I was expecting a little more. Both Christopher and Abigail acted in ways that I didn’t necessarily like. He sometimes came off a little predatory, saying things like “Who is going to keep you safe from me,” while caging her in and lightly stalking her. In one of the romantic scenes, he also implied that the way she was dressed had her “asking for it” in terms of his romantic advances, which is never something I want someone to say. Abigail also had her own missteps as she tried to seduce and mislead him, so it felt a bit duplicitous.
When it comes to the characters, I overall liked Abigail and Christopher but did feel they were very surface-level. I don’t feel I got to know the ins and outs of their feelings and thoughts as much as I like in my romantic leads.
With Abigail, I like that she’s unafraid to speak her mind to the Duke. She values her independence and is doing everything she can to protect it. I just wish she would stand up for herself to her father like she does the Duke. She’s not the best investigator, to be honest, and it seemed very obvious what she was doing, so it was a bit hard to take her seriously in that regard. Also, she kept saying she KNEW she should stop snooping on the Duke, but couldn’t help herself, and I was just like, “GIRL,” cause you know this is going to blow up in your face.
Given the secret from his past, Christopher felt a bit more complex, but I still struggled with him. The mistakes of his youth had dire consequences, and he now holds himself to incredibly high standards and needs to be perfect in the eyes of others to make up for his action and do what he thinks would have made his father proud. Because of that, he’s very rigid and stern. He’s a bit of an alphahole, but not in the way I like. I did enjoy how he immediately caught on that Abigail was lying to him and didn’t trust her (good instincts). He has a bit of a softer side that he keeps hidden from everyone that I enjoyed, but overall, I didn’t like him as much as I should.
I enjoyed that both Abigail and Christopher had secrets and were each trying to uncover the secret. When Christopher’s big scandal came out, it wasn’t as bad as I expected, and he’s beaten himself up over it more than anyone else. However, his reaction to Abigail’s response to try to make the situation better was way blown out of proportion. Both Abigail and Christopher needed to do a bit of groveling in the end – they both messed up big time. But the groveling felt uneven as her romantic gesture felt much bigger than his.
Also, there is a weird subplot involving a ghost hunt during the house party that I’m still not sure added anything to the story? There was a lot of focus on it, including finding the identity of said ghost, and I was a bit distracted and confused by that in the end, as the payoff wasn’t there.
Overall, this was a perfectly fine read, but not anything special. I don’t think I’ll be reaching for it anytime soon, as there are much better books with similar tropes out there. I am curious about the other books in the series (which I also apparently read but have zero recollection of) as this is book 2, so I may pick those up at a later date.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Injury/Injury detail
loverofromance's review
4.0
Abigail Shaw, has a deep love for writing, her father owns a respectable newspaper, and without knowing it his daughter is one of its writers. Abigail, learning that the fathers paper is having financial trouble, wants to find a scandal that will help her father, and to be respected as a woman author in a newspaper. So when she hears that there is a Duke in the Realm that appears to have a perfect past, she knows she needs to find out what scandal there is in his past. Knowing that the Lords of the realm are used to scandals, this could help save her father, so she poses as someone else at a house party hosted by his family for his younger sister who is coming out in society. But she knows the key part of her plan, is to gain the trust of Christopher Cabot, the Duke of Madingley. But there is something about the Duke, that causes her to be tempted by his kisses, where she starts to forget the real reason she is there. Christopher, after having a terrible event happening in his past, he overcomes it and prevents any scandal occuring. But when a young woman comes to him with a proposal that he can't deny, he knows he is in deep trouble. For he is getting closer attached to this woman who tempts him to sharing his secrets and thought to her. But what will happen when he falls for this enticing beauty where despite the deceptions he has found something more precious than he ever thought he would find.
I have always loved reading from Gayle Callen, and Never Dare A Duke was no different. I love the whole aspect of the mystery side of the story. It kept me in suspense until the very end. Christopher in his younger years suffered and has to live with it ever since, and just when he starts to come to terms with his past, he meets Abigail who is unlike any other woman he has ever met. There is a mystery about her, and he is anxious in his endeavor to find the truth. Abigail, at first is firm in her resolve to find the scandal in Christophers past, however after spending time with him, and sharing some intimate moments, she starts to doubt herself in the plan she has set in motion, wondering if she could ever hurt the one who has made her feel and experience things she never thought she ever would in her lifetime, and find a love so precious she never would want to give him up. As we see these two characters collide, and a ride that will take them and bring them exquisite joy and sorrow, we also see a tender love that blossoms between the two but will it destroy them or unite them? I found I truly enjoyed reading this story, and plus the cover is every bit as tempting and sensual as the story portrays. Never Dare A Duke is truly a WONDERFUL read!!!
I have always loved reading from Gayle Callen, and Never Dare A Duke was no different. I love the whole aspect of the mystery side of the story. It kept me in suspense until the very end. Christopher in his younger years suffered and has to live with it ever since, and just when he starts to come to terms with his past, he meets Abigail who is unlike any other woman he has ever met. There is a mystery about her, and he is anxious in his endeavor to find the truth. Abigail, at first is firm in her resolve to find the scandal in Christophers past, however after spending time with him, and sharing some intimate moments, she starts to doubt herself in the plan she has set in motion, wondering if she could ever hurt the one who has made her feel and experience things she never thought she ever would in her lifetime, and find a love so precious she never would want to give him up. As we see these two characters collide, and a ride that will take them and bring them exquisite joy and sorrow, we also see a tender love that blossoms between the two but will it destroy them or unite them? I found I truly enjoyed reading this story, and plus the cover is every bit as tempting and sensual as the story portrays. Never Dare A Duke is truly a WONDERFUL read!!!
lisajo85's review
4.0
Never Dare a Duke, book 2 in the Sons of Scandal series, was not as much fun as the first book, but still a pleasant read to pass a lazy Sunday afternoon. A trail blazing heroine and a proper young duke make for an intriguing tale of romance and scandal!
This was a unique story to read...determined girl pretending to be lady of nobility in order to sneak into a house party to research a scandalous story. I have to say the premise worried me, but in the end, I liked it. All the risks Abigail took led to really interesting encounters between her and Chris. There was a great cast of supporting characters that made the house party really interesting. Not that she had many scenes, but the chaperone for Abigail and Gwen always made me laugh. I also liked the secondary romance with Gwen. It never took away from the main story and was always cute to check in and see how their romance was progressing.
Abigail was a great leading lady. Despite her deceit concerning the party, she was a young woman brought up in circumstances that made her value honesty and integrity. She wanted a truthful story but she also wanted to write what sells. Watching her battle that line was really interesting for her character. And her actions toward the end showed what a kind and talented person she really was. I loved how the story progress with her investigation and how the truth influenced her actions in the end.
I rated it four stars because of Christopher. He seemed just a tab bit on edge at times...to put it mildly. He seemed like he had a wild temper. If he really hadn't let his temper get the best of him, I wouldn't have made my rating suffer, BUT the first time he has sex with Abigail is kind of frightening. You don't hate the hero after what happens, but it does cause you to worry. As always, everything works out alright in the end, but it was definitely a rocky road to get there. Otherwise, I liked his character. He was the gentleman that sowed his wild oats and as he matured tried his best to avoid scandal. At this point in his life, his family comes first and he will do whatever he can to uphold a scandal-free reputation. Watching him battle his desire and feelings for Abigail was always entertaining.
Overall, really enjoyable read. Loved the development of the romance and especially love the extremely sweet ending! Made it well worth the time!
This was a unique story to read...determined girl pretending to be lady of nobility in order to sneak into a house party to research a scandalous story. I have to say the premise worried me, but in the end, I liked it. All the risks Abigail took led to really interesting encounters between her and Chris. There was a great cast of supporting characters that made the house party really interesting. Not that she had many scenes, but the chaperone for Abigail and Gwen always made me laugh. I also liked the secondary romance with Gwen. It never took away from the main story and was always cute to check in and see how their romance was progressing.
Abigail was a great leading lady. Despite her deceit concerning the party, she was a young woman brought up in circumstances that made her value honesty and integrity. She wanted a truthful story but she also wanted to write what sells. Watching her battle that line was really interesting for her character. And her actions toward the end
Spoiler
writing the rebuttal to the poor story about ChrisI rated it four stars because of Christopher. He seemed just a tab bit on edge at times...to put it mildly. He seemed like he had a wild temper. If he really hadn't let his temper get the best of him, I wouldn't have made my rating suffer, BUT the first time he has sex with Abigail is kind of frightening. You don't hate the hero after what happens, but it does cause you to worry. As always, everything works out alright in the end, but it was definitely a rocky road to get there. Otherwise, I liked his character. He was the gentleman that sowed his wild oats and as he matured tried his best to avoid scandal. At this point in his life, his family comes first and he will do whatever he can to uphold a scandal-free reputation. Watching him battle his desire and feelings for Abigail was always entertaining.
Overall, really enjoyable read. Loved the development of the romance and especially love the extremely sweet ending! Made it well worth the time!
heatherbri's review
4.0
Just finished the second book in the series. While this one did not grab me and force me to finish in one day, as the first one did, this one was also well worth the read.
There were moments of boringness that made it a slower read, but the ending... sigh. So romantic and promising.
This is the first series I have read by Gayle Callen and I can promise I will read more. Looking forward to the next book I this series.
(Unfortunately it will have to wait as a library hold has just come through 🙄. Figures)
There were moments of boringness that made it a slower read, but the ending... sigh. So romantic and promising.
This is the first series I have read by Gayle Callen and I can promise I will read more. Looking forward to the next book I this series.
(Unfortunately it will have to wait as a library hold has just come through 🙄. Figures)
thenia's review
4.0
The story of Christopher Cabot, the Duke of Madingley (and cousin of Daniel Throckmorten, the hero of the first book) and Abigail Shaw, a journalist's daughter and journalist herself.
Abigail finds out about her father's newspaper's financial problems and decides to help by writing a story about the alleged scandals in the past of "perfect" duke of Madingley. Her close friend helps her get close to the duke and his family so she can investigate and things start developing from there.
Apart from Abigail's pigheadedness, the story is pretty nice and it keeps us guessing about the mystery right along with her.
Abigail finds out about her father's newspaper's financial problems and decides to help by writing a story about the alleged scandals in the past of "perfect" duke of Madingley. Her close friend helps her get close to the duke and his family so she can investigate and things start developing from there.
Apart from Abigail's pigheadedness, the story is pretty nice and it keeps us guessing about the mystery right along with her.
jacqueline1989's review
1.0
Pages survived: 26
D'oh. Yeah. That bad!
Or, more appropriately, I should say, that nothing. This book was a definite did-not-finish literally from the very first sentence. Granted, this could have quite a bit to do with the fact that this particular novel followed a very grand, 5-star Julia Quinn book. However, considering the negative reviews I've found on this book, which paralleled my sentiments, I'm disinclined to believe such.
Frankly, there is one primary reason as to why I ditched this book so quick; the writing. It would be unfair to say characters, or plot, were failing in this book, since I have only given it a measly twenty-six pages of chance. However, even still, if any book is more indicative of the tell-don't-show writing style, it is Never Dare A Duke. Additionally, Callen's use of what I call choppy writing was beyond grating.
One sentence after another felt more bumpy and abrasive than the next. Add this fact to the reality that the heroine was exceedingly dull, and this book just didn't have enough in it to keep me going.
D'oh. Yeah. That bad!
Or, more appropriately, I should say, that nothing. This book was a definite did-not-finish literally from the very first sentence. Granted, this could have quite a bit to do with the fact that this particular novel followed a very grand, 5-star Julia Quinn book. However, considering the negative reviews I've found on this book, which paralleled my sentiments, I'm disinclined to believe such.
Frankly, there is one primary reason as to why I ditched this book so quick; the writing. It would be unfair to say characters, or plot, were failing in this book, since I have only given it a measly twenty-six pages of chance. However, even still, if any book is more indicative of the tell-don't-show writing style, it is Never Dare A Duke. Additionally, Callen's use of what I call choppy writing was beyond grating.
One sentence after another felt more bumpy and abrasive than the next. Add this fact to the reality that the heroine was exceedingly dull, and this book just didn't have enough in it to keep me going.
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